Oct 9, 2026 5:33 AM -
There is a well-known article in Shamati that discusses the meaning of Tzlalim (shadows) and what Tzelem (image or form). It refers to the Masach (screen). If a person shields himself from the Creator and thereby gives Him the opportunity to reveal Himself, then the Creator can be revealed to the extent that the person has concealed themselves. Ultimately, a one-hundred-percent correspondence is always maintained between us and the light.
Once, we were in the world of infinity, where Malchut decided to restrict herself and never receive the light. Malchut imposed the first restriction upon herself and said: “The light will not come to me. And if it does come, it will be only so that I may bestow through this reception, and in no other way.” Therefore, the light comes to the extent that Malchut can shield herself from the light approaching her.
In other words, the relationship between Malchut, the creation, on the one hand, and Keter (the Creator or the light) on the other, is always as follows: if Malchut is one hundred percent closed, the Creator is one hundred percent revealed; and if Malchut is one hundred percent open, unable to impose a restriction upon herself, the Creator is one hundred percent concealed.
The state may be intermediate where the degree to which I open or close myself determines my spiritual degree, that is, the extent to which the Creator is revealed. This is essentially where the worlds are located; it determines which world I am in: Assiya, Yetzira, Beria, Atzilut, Adam Kadmon, or Ein Sof (infinity).
In Ein Sof I am completely beneath my screen, and then the Creator can be revealed before me. In our world, I am entirely devoid of a screen, and therefore the Creator completely conceals Himself from me. In the interval between these two states, I am on one degree or another of the worlds, which is called concealments and indicates the relative level of revelation and concealment.
It is precisely this relationship between revelation and concealment that is called a shadow (Tzel). On the night of Hoshana Rabbah, we check the integrity of our “shadow.” In other words, has Zeir Anpin (that is, the “body” of a person) become complete as a result of its correction? Does it have a screen over all the parts of the “body” and, consequently, a “shadow” from each part? Has a person acquired a screen for each of his desires?
This is what one must find out at the end of Sukkot, because throughout Sukkot all the surrounding lights were meant to construct the image (Tzelem) of the Creator within the person, meaning a screen sufficient for all their desires. This is known as examining the “shadow.”
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From the Daily Kabbalah Lesson on the night of Hoshana Rabbah, 10/2/26